


"I can't come back." - Supercorp + Alex

by luversd



Series: Fictober 2019 [12]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alien Invasion, Bomb, Kryptonite, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-14 00:02:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21006371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luversd/pseuds/luversd
Summary: Non has an army of Kryptonians and wants to invade the Earth, so team Supergirl has to make sure he doesn't succeed.





	"I can't come back." - Supercorp + Alex

**Author's Note:**

> Happy something day! (What day is it? What is time even?)
> 
> It is still Saturday 12 Oct somewhere in the world, don't shoot me.
> 
> Prepare for angst.
> 
> Inspired by the DC universe rebirth Supergirl comic 'Vol. 1: Reign of the Cyborg Supermen'.
> 
> All mistakes are mine. 
> 
> Enjoy x

The aftermath of the invasion had been harrowing. With Supergirl gone and the city left in shambles, chaos had had the upper hand for almost three months now. Lena Luthor was aware she had a brilliant mind, but she had been spreading herself too thin. The greater good theory stated to secure the greatest good for the greatest number. That meant saving National City first, and then thinking of a solution to save the Kryptonian hero, or more accurately heroes. However, her heart was prioritising her best friend over millions of strangers, and as smart as she was, she knew her brain was too scattered to function at optimal level. As if the personal feelings weren't enough of a distraction already, the flashbacks and nightmares certainly didn't help with the development of the restoration plan.

*

Three months ago

The DEO had been having a suspiciously uneventful morning and the Danvers siblings were enjoying the rare moment of calmness at the governmental facility by sparring and bantering as sisters do.

'That was a good session. You weren't half as bad as you were the first time we sparred together,' DEO director Alex Danvers teased her sister as she turned off the Kryptonite sensors and unlocked the door.

'I have a pretty great teacher,' Kara Danvers replied with a grin before heading to the locker room.

'You sure do,' the redhead concurred. 'Got any plans for lunch?'

The Super took a swig from her reusable water bottle before nodding enthusiastically. 'I've got a lunch date with Lena.'

The other woman studied the changing heroine with a raised eyebrow, 'you two are okay now? It kind of felt like the Cold War between you when she found out about Supergirl.'

The blonde hummed in agreement, 'we're fine. She was hurt and angry, which is understandable since I'd been lying to her for so long, and we hit a rough patch there but now we're flourishing like a Green Bay tree.'

Alex stared at her skeptically, 'you're 'flourishing like a Green Bay tree'? What are you, the Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms?'

The superhero smiled brightly at the attention her particular word choice had gotten. 'Sounds fancy, right? I've been brushing up on my expressions and vocabulary to enrich my journalistic articles,' she explained.

The governmental operative looked unimpressed, 'it sounds incongruous. How's that for a fancy word?'

'Not that fancy,' Kara deadpanned, fully clothed as the CatCo reporter the city knew her as. 'I'll be back in two hours tops. Try not to die of boredom and if something happens, call me.' She hugged her sister goodbye before making the journey to the L-Corp building the human way.

*

Kara had hoped that her lunch date with the L-Corp CEO would've gone without a hitch since her morning at the DEO had gone without disturbances. She should've known that wouldn't be the case. The ladies were halfway through their meal when the superhero received a call from her sister.

** _Alex: 'Hey, Kara. I'm sorry to cut your date short, but we have a situation at the DEO. Your mom's here.' _ **

Kara: 'Alura's at the DEO?'

** _A: 'Yes, and she wants to speak with you. You should hurry, Kara, she doesn't look well.' _ **

K: 'I'm on my way.'

** _A: 'Oh, and bring Lena with you. Something tells me we're going to need her.' _ **

'I'm sorry, Lena,' Kara frowned as her mind worked to find a plausible explanation for her mother's return to Earth. 'That was Alex, she needs us at the DEO. Do you mind tagging along?'

Lena Luthor raised her eyebrows in surprise, 'you want me to come with you?'

The blonde nodded, 'yeah, apparently my Kryptonian mom is here and she might be ill. Maybe you could check her out or something. And even if there's nothing for you to do, I'd still appreciate having you there.'

The businesswoman smiled, 'of course I'll come. We'll have to take the elevator though since you came as Kara Danvers.'

'Alright, but once we're outside, I'm flying us there.'

*

'Mom, what brings you to this side of the universe? Not that I don't like having you here, it's just unexpected,' Supergirl greeted her mother with a hug.

'Kara, my daughter. As much as I would love to sit and talk with you, there's a grave danger approaching this planet,' Alura warned urgently.

'Why don't we go to the meeting room upstairs,' Alex suggested. 'We'll have some privacy there.'

'That's a great idea,' her sister agreed and led the company up the stairs. 'Mom, you remember my friend Lena? She's the genius who made that Harun-El a while ago,' she introduced.

'How could I forget such a lovely woman like her?' The older Kryptonian smiled warmly at the Luthor.

'It's a pleasure seeing you again, Mrs. Zor-El, although I wish we would stop meeting in dangerous situations like this,' Lena told her lightheartedly.

'Alright,' the DEO director closed the door behind her and nodded to the parent. 'The floor is yours, Alura. What are we up against?'

The Kryptonian rubbed her hands nervously before speaking up. 'Non. He has created an army of Kryptonians and he's on his way to Earth with hundreds of spaceships.'

'Non? What-, why is he coming back here?' Kara stumbled over her words as a million questions tried to escape her mouth.

'Why don't I start from the beginning?' Alura offered, not waiting for an answer before retelling the events that had been happening on Krypton. 'After Astra's passing and his own defeat against Supergirl, Non came back to Argo City. He laid low for a year or two, and we figured he would just spend the rest of his days holed up in his home. We were wrong. It turns out he had formed a partnership with Dr. Se-Loth and they had been working in his lab for months to create a virus that would affect all citizens on Krypton.' The judicatory carefully studied the other women's reactions before carrying on. 'The virus spread quickly and everyone got sick. Of course, no one knew what was going on. We weren't aware of Dr. Se-Loth's involvement in the epidemic since he was also ill, but he painted himself the bearer of good news by announcing a free cure for everyone affected.' Alura took a deep breath. Contrary to what her audience was thinking, that was the moment everything had gone wrong. 'We were so relieved to have such a brilliant scientist among us, but it was a trick and we all fell for it.' The woman shook her head in disappointment at her own naivety.

'You couldn't have known he was responsible,' Kara reasoned in an attempt to lessen her mother's guilt. 'You did what you thought was best for your people, and no one can blame you for that.'

'Thank you, Kara.' Alura smiled gently at her daughter's support. 'What we didn't know was that Non and Dr. Se-Loth had inserted some sort of chip in the medicine.' A look of genuine fear crossed the older woman's face and the Kryptonian braced herself for the distressing news. 'All the chips are synced to a mainframe computer that is in Non's possession. We're not sure how the technology works but Non can control us just by pressing a few buttons.' 

'How are you here?' Supergirl wondered out loud. The crinkle between her brows showed her worry and confusion. 'Are you still in control of yourself? Are you hurt?'

'We're fine, for now,' the mother promised. 'Non has tested his technology a few times to make sure it worked but other than that, he hasn't done anything drastic yet. We are thinking he's making the last preparations for the planned attack on Earth and once he's ready, he'll take over our minds and turn us into his soldiers.' 

'That's unsettling,' Lena commented honestly. 'How much time do we have until Non is onto us?' 

'A few hours at most,' Alura estimated.

The Luthor's green eyes widened at the unexpectedly short timeframe. 'So we need to figure out a plan to make sure Non and his army don't reach Earth, and fast.'

'Do you have any idea how he plans to bring all the Kryptonians here?' Alex questioned. 

'No, I'm sorry,' the judicator frowned apologetically. 'Could it be another transmatter portal?' 

'Possibly,' the CEO contemplated. 'To be honest, considering all the aliens currently living on Earth, it wouldn't be so far-fetched to think someone has created a comparable device. Although that would imply that someone on Earth is collaborating with Non.'

'If that's the case, there's no way we could track that one single person in time to stop the invasion,' Supergirl determined. 

'Could we neutralise the army?' The DEO director inquired. 

'Not likely. Our science division has been at it for days and they haven't been able to even locate the chip in our bodies,' the Kryptonian relayed dismally. 

'And if Kryptonian scientists can't figure it out, what is the probability that us humans will?' Lena completed her train of thought pointedly. 

'Exactly,' Alura nodded.

'Okay,' the blonde hero pondered. 'You mentioned Non had already taken control of your mind before to check if the chips had worked. How did it feel? Is there any chance that you could fight him off?'

Her mother thought about the unfortunate event, 'no, I don't think so. I don't remember much of when he was manipulating me, but I do recall my friends seeming... brainless when they were being controlled and I wasn't. It was like they were puppets doing whatever they were programmed to do without questioning it.' 

The Super exhaled defeatedly. 'Alright, we can't neutralise the army without killing them all, and we can't prevent Non from coming to Earth since we don't know how he's travelling.' 

'You said your scientists couldn't locate the chip, right?' The Luthor heir addressed the Kryptonian mother pensively. 'What if the chip was organic? It could have grown and woven itself into your neural network. Maybe the reason why you can't find it is because you've been looking for a foreign agent, when in reality it has the same biological markers as the rest of your anatomy.' 

'That would make sense, but how does it help us find a solution?' Alura asked curiously. 

Lena sighed, 'there's a theory on memory consolidation that states that when a memory is retrieved, it becomes labile and susceptible to reconsolidating, permitting changes in the contents of long-term memory with each episode of retrieval. What if activating this chip acts like a memory? So following this theory's logic, when it's operating, it will be more susceptible to change. Now, if the chip is biological and has indeed merged with your Kryptonian DNA, it would be sensitive to Kryptonite, like the rest of your body.' The CEO glanced at the other women to see if they catching on to her train of thoughts. By the look on Alex's face, she seemed to know where she was heading. 'What if we let Non come to us with his army and try to stop him here? We could use the atmospherical bomb to lead the Earth's atmosphere with Kryptonite. Not only would this drive Non away, but it could weaken the chip's hold on you, assuming it would be active when the bomb goes off.'

The silence that followed was expected and heavy with emotion. 

Kara was the first to speak. 'It could work,' she concurred. Her voice cracked at the thought of having to leave the planet and her loved ones for an indefinite amount of time, but it held no hesitation. Her cousin's and her duty was to first and foremost protect the Earth and that was what they were going to do. 

'I don't like this,' Alex said accusingly with crossed arms.

'Neither do I,' the Luthor frowned, 'but it's the only plan we have and we're running out of time. Besides Mon-El said L-Corp had found a way to clear the air of lead in the future, so we will figure out a way to do it with Kryptonite in this century.' 

'Are we really going to do this?' The redhead asked the other women with concern. Lena was right, they didn't have another plan and they didn't have the time to come up with one. 

'Yes, it's a smart plan and it could end up saving those Kryptonians' lives,' the Super spoke with conviction. 'We should get ready. I'll bring Kal up to speed while you go get the bomb.' 

'I should head back to Argo City before they noticed my absence and manipulate me into attacking you right here,' Alura declared. 'Close the portal behind me to make sure no one can enter through there, and good luck.' 

'You too,' Kara pulled her mother in a warm embrace. 'I'll see you on the other side.' 

'Thank you ladies for your help,' the Kryptonian smiled gratefully and shook both the agent and the CEO's hand before exiting the room. 

'It's up to us now,' the superhero said. 'Are you ready?' 

'Not really, but we don't have a choice, do we?' Alex raised an eyebrow pointedly. 

'Not when the fate of the world lies in our hands,' Kara agreed. 

*

'How did they get here so fast?' Alex Danvers asked her teammates through the comms. 

'Wormhole!' Supergirl provided an answer quickly from the air. 'There are a lot of them,' she observed anxiously. 

'We'll press the button once you're certain that all the chips are activated, Supergirl,' Lena Luthor informed. 'But you have to make sure, everybody is in the Earth's atmosphere, got it?' 

'Copy that,' the hero replied. 

'Your cousin and you both have your anti-Kryptonite suit on?' The CEO checked. 

A chorus of 'yes's was heard over their comms. 'Good. The bomb will be detonated at your signal, Supergirl. Not a moment earlier or later,' the Luthor swore. 

'Got it. And team? You're the most amazing teammates a superhero could ask for, and the most amazing family anybody could wish for. I love you,' Kara spoke emotionally. 

'I second that,' Superman agreed. 'It has been a pleasure saving the world with you, ladies.'

'A Super, a Luthor and a Danvers,' Lena smiled at the blonde superhero outside her window and at the Danvers sister beside her. 'Who would've believed it?' 

*

Present day

'National City is missing its guardian angel,' Lena Luthor conversed with said superhero via interstellar Skype. 'And I'm missing my best friend,' she added. 

'I can't come back, Lena,' Kara Danvers smiled sadly through the computer screen. 'The Kryptonite levels are still too high. It would literally kill me to go back to Earth, and I'm pretty sure that is worse than metaphorically being killed by missing you.' 

'What if I come to Argo City for a day? Like a city trip?' The businesswoman proposed hopefully.

'That would kill _you_,' the superhero pointed out. 

The CEO sighed, 'I shouldn't have pressed that button. I should've thought of another way to get Non to leave.'

'Don't do this, Lena. It's not your fault and you saved the world,' the blonde reminded sternly. 'Kal-El and I leaving was a price we had to pay in order to keep Earth safe, and that was our purpose, the reason we were even sent to Earth in the first place.' 

'It still sucks though,' the green eyed woman argued. 

'It does,' the blonde agreed, 'but I have faith in you. You will find a way to clear the air of Kryptonite.' 

'I will, and soon,' the Luthor swore. 'You'll be back on duty before you even know it, Supergirl. I promise.' 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading babes x
> 
> Tumblr: @luversd


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